The fire began on a rear wooden stairway shared by the two buildings. Fire officials said the flames spread up the stairway, into the third floor apartments and from there to the space between the ceiling and roof, making the fire more difficult to extinguish.

The buildings lack any rear exit aside from the area near the stairway. As a result, firefighters had to go around the block if moved from front to back, instead of through the building, wearing them out more quickly and prompting a third alarm.

One resident of the building, named Ivanna, said she did not hear any fire alarm, only a commotion outside her second-floor window. When she looked outside and saw people running half-clothed with their belongings, she dressed, grabbed her wallet and ran outside.

The firefighter was treated for his injury at nearby Illinois Masonic Hospital.

Neither of the buildings was deemed habitable by authorities after the fire. The American Red Cross said it would provide temporary shelter for anyone left homeless by the fire.

Bob Roberts

Bob Roberts is a native of Wilmette who has worked in Chicago media for all but four years of a career dating back to 1974.
He attended St. Francis Xavier Elementary School and Loyola Academy in Wilmette, before discovering radio while getting his...